EPICA Makes Mentally Disabled Fan’s Dream Come True

Dutch female-fronted symphonic metallers EPICA recently guested on the Dutch TV show “Niks Te Gek”, which gives mentally disabled people the chance to make their dreams come true. Ruurd Woltring‘s biggest wish was record one of his songs with EPICA, and so the band took his music and lyrics and arranged it into an EPICA track, inviting him into the studio to record with them.

The song they recorded is entitled “Forevermore”, and a video clip of the recording can be seen below.

The video will air on “Niks Te Gek” on September 16 on Nederland 2.

Commented Ruurd: “On 14 and 15 August, I’ve been in the studio with the Dutch symphonic metal group EPICA, to record an official EPICA version of my self-written song ‘Forevermore’!

“Now, you all probably want to know how this came to. Well, a couple of months ago, I heard from some sort of Dutch TV program called ‘Knoop In Je Zakdoek’ (Knot In Your Handkerchief) from NTR, where people from 18 years or older with a mental or physical restriction can send in one favorite wish, to do an activity together with their greatest idol. Anyhow, I signed up for the program, sent in my wish, discussed some details with the editor of the program (who by then told me it would be broadcasted in a different program, called ‘Niks Te Gek’ (‘Nothing Too Weird’) from NTR), did a couple of camera shots in my hometown, went to EPICA‘s concert at the Rock Harz open air festival in Ballenstedt (Germany) on Friday 13 July 2012, exclusively met the band backstage, played an acoustic version of my song on the keyboard of Coen Janssen (the pianist and keyboardist of the band) and guess what… THEY ALL SAD YES! Yahoo! I’m so excited!

“Oh, and for those who live in Belgium and/or the Netherlands, starting from Sunday 2 September, you can see ‘Niks Te Gek’ on TV (Dutch only), each Sunday around 4:30 (in the afternoon) on Nederland 2. The exact date of my broadcast is Sunday 16 September.”